CALYPSO – The number-two seeded North Duplin Rebels defeated the 15th-seeded East Bladen Eagles for a 35-8 victory in the second round of the 1A NCHSAA State Playoffs last Friday. The Rebels rushed for 338 yards on the ground and much of the workload went to junior running-back Carell Phillips for the majority of the game. Phillips rushed for 234 yards on 15 carries and he punched the ball into the endzone three times on the night.
Junior running-back Vance Carter was the second leading rusher of the game with 51 yards on 10 carries and he was responsible for a touchdown as well. North Duplin advances to the next round against the number-ten seeded Lakedwood Leopards and they’ll host their rivals in the Carolina 1A Conference for the second time this season. The Rebels secured the victory in their regular-season matchup with Lakewood in a 43-24 contest. Phillips rushed for 252 yards and scored 3 touchdowns in the Rebels October meeting against Lakewood.
East Bladen’s season comes to an end after Friday’s loss as they finish the year with a 5-7 overall record. The Eagles had their ups-and-downs this season but they were able to book a ticket to the playoffs by being one of the premier teams in the Waccamaw 1A/2A Conference. They finished in the fourth-place spot in the standings behind Pender County with a 3-3 record in conference action.
East Bladen Head Coach Robby Priest could rely on senior Jaylen Suggs, junior Kewone Maynor, and junior Dashon Campbell on both sides of the ball this season. These three players tended to alternate on carries throughout the season and were responsible for the bulk of the Eagles touchdowns this season. Maynor and Campbell had 10 touchdowns apiece to lead their team. Suggs rushed for five touchdowns and he nabbed two interceptions on the other side of the ball. Junior running-back Torean Cogdell was also a frequently used weapon on offense for the hometown Eagles.
Maynor was a swiss-army knife for the Eagles as he did everything from passing, rushing, tackling, punting and was the returnman on special teams. His athleticism made him a central part of the Eagles success during the season and he’ll surely be an integral figure come next season. Fortunately for the Eagles, they will return the bulk of their roster next season as eight seniors depart due to graduation. Senior line-backer Cole Butler is one of those eight seniors that played their last game in an Eagles jersey last Friday night.
Butler was a magnet to the football this season and he averaged 7.1 tackles per game to lead the Eagles. The number-four seeded Pender Patriots(9-3, 4-2) defeated the 13th-seeded Rosewood Eagles(6-6, 2-2) in a 53-14 victory in the second round of the 1A NCHSAA State Playoffs last Friday night. Pender was able to run away from Rosewood in the first half of Friday’s matchup as they dropped 40 points in two quarters of action.
The number-four seeded team in the 1A East Region held their opponents scoreless in the second half of the game. The Patriots will host the 12th-seeded Gates County Red Barons(8-4, 2-3) for their third round matchup this Friday. The number-one seeded Tarboro Vikings(10-1, 5-0) will take on the number-nine seeded Warren County Eagles(10-2, 7-1) in the third round. The winner of this game will face off with the winner of Pender/Gates County in the fourth round on December 6th.
The Whiteville Wolfpack(11-1, 6-0) continued their quest for the state title in the 2A East Region last Friday as the number-two seeded team manhandled their second round opponents. Farmville Central entered Friday’s game with the Wolfpack on a two game win streak before being bulldozed in a 63-29 defeat to the Waccamaw 1A/2A Champs.
The Wolfpack will host the number-seventh seeded Eastern Wayne Warriors(10-2, 5-0) this Friday in their third round matchup. Eastern Wayne was able to hold on against Prinecton in a four point victory that catapulted them into the next round. The Warriors have averaged 42 ppg on offense and held their opponents to 25 ppg during the first two rounds of the postseason. Whiteville are on the side of the bracket with the number-sixth seeded Ayden-Grifton Chargers(8-4, 5-1) and the 19th-seeded Kinston Vikings(8-4, 4-2).
East Bladen Schedule:
North Brunswick 48, East Bladen 0
East Bladen 42, West Bladen 8
Wilmington Ashley 54, East Bladen 27
James Kenan 34, East Bladen 14
South Columbus 25, East Bladen 22
East Bladen 50, East Columbus 7
Pender 44, East Bladen 12
East Bladen 12, Heide Trask 6
East Bladen 43, West Columbus 0
Whiteville 55, East Bladen 7
#15 East Bladen 37, #18 Southeast Halifax 12
#2 North Duplin 35, #15 East Bladen 8
1A Playoffs East Fourth Round Games 11/29:
#9 Warren County at #1 Tarboro
#10 Lakewood at #2 North Duplin
#6 North Monroe at #3 Wilson Prep
#12 Gates County at #4 Pender
2A Playoffs East Fourth Round Games 11/29:
#24 West Craven at #1 Northwestern
#7 Eastern Wayne at #2 Whiteville
#12 James Kenan at #4 Wallace-Rose Hill
#19 Kinston at #6 Ayden-Grifton
3A Playoffs East Fourth Round Games 11/29:
#24 Scotland County at #1 Havelock
#10 North Brunswick at #2 Seventy-First
#30 J.H. Rose at #6 Southern School of Energy and Sustainability
#13 Cape Fear at #12 Jacksonville
4A Playoffs East Fourth Round:
#8 Jordan at #1 Clevland
#23 Durham-Hillside at #2 Cardinal Gibbons
#11 Millbrook at #3 Wilmington-Hoggard
#5 Rolesville at #4 Richmond County